This afternoon hundreds of people from Cardiff and some from beyond came together outside the Central Library in The Hayes to protest against Cardiff Council’s decision to close six of its libraries and further diminish the Central Library. Many speakers, including writers like writers like Gwyneth Lewis, Jo Mazelis, Fran Rhydderch and Labi Siffre, emphasised the need to protect an essential public resource for the mind, and called on the Council to rescind its decision to turn Cardiff into what one placard called ‘The Waste Land’.

Each protestor was asked to come with a book. Each book represents a loss: an individual’s loss of a tool for growth, and a community’s loss of a loved resource held in common.

Some of the books the demonstrators brought are pictured here: books for babies, books for children, books for adults; novels, poetry, translations and manuals; books about history, politics and travel; books for work, books for relaxation, books to feed the imagination. The voices of all of them become fainter when a library closes.